Learning to love others the way Jesus loves us
Nahum chapters 2&3(Image credit unknown) Article © Christopher Jones 2016 The great palaces of Nineveh are long gone. What is left is uninhabitable rubble and dust. Even that was unseen until archaeologists unearthed it. And what archaeologists discovered in the last century was blown up by ISIS (Daesh) forces five years ago. Every great culture… Continue reading What will we build?
Psalm 61. These are strange days. No one knows what the next weeks or months hold. Insecurity breeds fear which leads to irrational behavior. But for those who know the Lord, there is a refuge. From the end of the earth, from the end of our resources, from the end of everything familiar, God hears… Continue reading The Rock that is higher than I.
Matthew 14:14-33 At the church I attend here in Las Vegas we are working through a study of what it means to be a Jesus follower. This morning's reading included then section of Matthew where Jesus walked on water. I went back a few verses for context and I think someone who reads this may… Continue reading Take heart.
Jonah 4 So, one might think Jonah would get excited when the whole city of Nineveh repented of their violence and false religions. But no. Jonah was ticked off. Why? Because he decided the God was too gracious, too merciful, too patient, and too loving. He certainly didn't think so when he was surrounded by… Continue reading Jonah’s drama, God’s mercy
2 Thessalonians 2:13- 3:17 Times were hard for the Thessalonian believers. To their credit, they loved each other and continued to do good, in spite of their confusion about the Day of the Lord. Paul commended them for their commitment to the Truth, reminding them that the Holy Spirit was working in and through them… Continue reading The Lord is faithful
2 Thessalonians 1:1-2:11 Second Thessalonians is a follow up letter to the believers who were still struggling with the return of Jesus and the judgement to come. Paul was not in Thessalonica long enough to establish a firm foundation of teaching and knowledge. They kept growing in abundant faith and increasing love for each other,… Continue reading Knowledge matters.
The Day of the Lord, Gospels and Epistles. The Day of the Lord is a sure thing. The prophets of both Old and New Testaments describe the utter destruction of evil and everything attached to it. The letters to the Church describe the precursors. Jesus Himself said that Sodom and Gomorrah got off easy by… Continue reading No one knows the time.
1 Thessalonians 4:13 - 5:11 So, this is the passage that brought me to 1 Thessalonians after reading Joel. The Day of the Lord is God's just wrath poured over the evil of the world (Joel 2). The Thessalonians knew about it, and worried about when it would happen and whether their fellow believers who… Continue reading The Day of the Lord
1 Thessalonians 5:12-28 The caption in my Bible for these 16 verses is "Final instructions and benediction." I don't think it is a good caption, considering the depth of what Paul wrote. Fortunately, the captions are not part of the Word, but were added by editors, supposedly to make reading easier. Sometimes they can be… Continue reading Love, Joy, Reason
1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 The Thessalonians acted on their beliefs, even though they didn't know as much as Paul would have liked them to know. He told them that they had been taught by God to love one another, and he encouraged them to not only continue in their love, but to increase it, loving each… Continue reading More and more
Defaulting to Grace 